When you look at TaylorMade’s P770s compared to the P790s, at first glance it can be tough to spot massive differences between the two.
These are two of TaylorMade’s most popular iron sets to date, and form one of the fiercest “sibling rivalries” in the golf iron world. If you’re not sure which of these iron sets is best for you, you’re not alone. In this article we’ve broken down what goes into each of these irons, compare them head to head, and give some insight on who may be best suited to play each set of irons.
So want to know how the P770 VS P790s stack up? Let’s dive in below.
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Description:
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- Made for the Mid to Low Handicap crowd
- Sleek muscle back look with a shorter blade and thin top line
- Weaker Lofts than the P790 Irons
- Great forgiveness given the blade profile
- Suitable for a wide range of players
- Large Sweet spot, resulting in better strike quality
- Hollow Body Forged Construction resulting in impressive ball speeds
- Very forgiving set of irons
TaylorMade P770 Irons Overview
Up first, we have the P770 irons, and in a few words, these irons are for high caliber players. These irons were released after the P790s were introduced, due to the overwhelming success the P790 irons have brought to the forged iron market.
The P770 is a relatively compact set of irons that aren’t quite blades, but certainly aren’t the most forgiving irons you can find. This Compact Player Shape, as TaylorMade refers to it, is designed to feature a thin top line, very little offset, and an overall shorter blade length when compared to the P790s.
Both the P770 and P790s feature a Forged Hollow Body construction with a very thin forged 4140 face. This forged face is supported by a soft carbon steel body, and additional tungsten weighting that is meant to pack an impressive punch in terms of ball speed, distance, as well as forgiveness.
On the forgiveness side of things, TaylorMade put their SpeedFoam and Thru Slot Speed Pocket technology to work, producing more consistent ball speed across the face of the club. The P770s also feature the innovative Inverted Cone Technology, which effectively creates a progressive and dynamic sweet spot on each individual iron, based on the most common mishits of each club. This helps protect ball speed on off center strikes, and ultimately adds forgiveness to these irons. This Inverted Cone Technology is unique to the P770s, and is not featured in the P790s.
To boil everything down, TaylorMade took everything exceptional about the P790s, and fit that same technology into a compact, player driven design. These irons are made for single digit handicaps, who are finding the center of the clubface far more often than not. If you hit the ball well and want some brand new technology to support your game, the P770s are an unbelievable buy and will likely remain some of the best compact irons on the market for years to come.
P770 Iron Specs
CLUB | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | PW | AW |
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LOFT | 19.5° | 22.5° | 25.5° | 29.0° | 33.0° | 37.0° | 41.5° | 46.0° | 51.0° |
LIE | 60.5° | 61° | 61.5° | 62° | 62.5° | 63° | 63.5° | 64° | 64° |
OFFSET | 3.6mm | 3.3mm | 3.0mm | 2.7mm | 2.4mm | 2.2mm | 1.9mm | 1.6mm | 1.6mm |
LENGTH | 39.00″ | 38.50″ | 38.00″ | 37.50″ | 37.00″ | 36.50″ | 36.00″ | 35.75″ | 35.50″ |
SWING WEIGHT | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D2 | D3 | D3 |
Check the price for the TaylorMade P770s on Amazon here.
TaylorMade P790 Irons Overview
The TaylorMade P790 irons may very well be TaylorMade’s crowning achievement when it comes to irons. The P790s are appealing to a huge variety of players, from your weekend warrior all the way to a scratch player or better. The P790 irons are packed with technology that makes them produce explosive ball speeds, while still packing loads of forgiveness. The 2021 versions have a few key updates when compared to the previous P790 irons that make these the high performing irons they are.
These irons feature that same Hollow Body Forged construction as mentioned above for the P770s, as well as a thin forged 4140 face. The 2021 version of these irons still feature the SpeedFoam Air that the initial irons used, this time being 69% lighter than the previous version. This saved weight has been redistributed elsewhere to optimized launch conditions. These irons also feature a brand new 8620 carbon steel for a 38% thinner head and overall lower CG. They also include the same Thru Slot Speed Pocket technology mentioned above, and a sweet spot that is 60% larger than it’s predecessor.
All this technology makes the P790s some of the most impressive irons on the market. Simply put, these irons are meant to help you hit the ball further, higher, and straighter much more often. On top of that, they just look great. If you want an all around excellent set of irons, you cannot go wrong with the P790’s in hand. (I currently game these irons, as a 7 handicap).
P790 Iron Specs:
CLUB | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | PW | AW |
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LOFT | 19° | 21° | 23.5° | 26.5° | 30.5° | 35° | 40° | 45° | 50° |
LIE | 60.5° | 61° | 61.5° | 62° | 62.5° | 63° | 63.5° | 64° | 64° |
OFFSET | 3.5mm | 3.4mm | 3.1mm | 2.9mm | 2.7mm | 2.4mm | 2.1mm | 1.8mm | 1.6mm |
LENGTH | 39.00″ | 38.50″ | 38.00″ | 37.50″ | 37.00″ | 36.50″ | 36.00″ | 35.75″ | 35.50″ |
SWING WEIGHT(ST/GR) | D2/DO | D2/DO | D2/DO | D2/DO | D2/DO | D2/DO | D2/DO | D3/D1 | D3/D1 |
HAND | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH | RH/LH |
Check the price for the TaylorMade P790s on Amazon here.
P770 VS P790 Head to Head Comparisons
Here’s a quick snapshot of each iron’s basic profile:
TaylorMade P770 | TaylorMade P790 | |
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Initial Release | Released Late in 2020 | Newest Version Released 2021 |
Category | Players Distance | Players Distance |
Looks | Muscle Back/Blade Profile | Longer Blade, Players Iron |
Construction | Forged, Hollow Body | Forged, Hollow Body |
Target Audience | Low or Mid Handicappers | All Handicaps |
What’s included | 3-AW Available | 3-AW Available |
Stock Shaft | KBS Tour 120 S | Steel- Dynamic Gold VSS or Graphite- Mitsubishi MMT |
Shaft Trajectory | Mid Launch | Mid-Low Launch |
Availability | Check Price for P770 | Check Price for P790 |
TaylorMade P770 VS P790: Distance
Let’s get into some head to head battles.
Ironically, both of these sets of irons falls into the Players Distance category, meaning they both do their very best to produce insane ball speeds and impressive distance. Both iron sets use the same forged 4140 stainless steel in the face, so that’s not a huge factor when comparing distance.
That said, the P790 irons carry stronger lofts across the board, when compared to the P770s. Stronger lofts for the most part will just about always produce more distance. Now the differences are small- half a degree difference in 3 iron lofts, and 2 degree difference in 8 iron lofts, for instance. But every degree counts when it comes to distance.
For that reason, the P790 is consistently the longer iron set of the two. It’s worth noting the P770s put out some pretty eye popping distances for being “standard loft” irons, though.
TaylorMade P770 VS P790: Forgiveness
The P790 yet again has the edge, this time in the forgiveness category.
Now, the P790s have had a head start here; they’re on their 3rd iteration of these irons since they were first launched in 2017. In the latest update to the P790s, the sweet spot was made to be 60% larger than the previous model. That’s a massive improvement in a short period of time.
Aside from the technical improvements the P790s have undergone, the P770s are just more compact. The P770s have a shorter blade, combined with a muscle back design. This shorter blade will naturally reduce the size of your sweet spot, making it easier to mishit the golf ball.
That’s not to say the P770’s aren’t forgiving. They are, especially when compared to other muscle backed irons. This just goes back to the general profile, and target player who is going to play this club.
TaylorMade P770 VS P790: Feel
I’ve hit a bunch of iron sets in my life, and there is nothing that beats hitting a forged iron. The feel off the face of the club is a bit softer, makes a way nice sound, and in some way just makes you feel more connected to your shot. Don’t ask how.
When it comes to feel, you’re looking for strike feedback. Both sets deliver in this category. That is largely due to the Speed Foam Technology at work, with both of these sets feature. That and of course the forged face.
When I first bought the P790s I was blown away by the feel they produce. Upgrading from true game improvement irons, it was a whole new experience.
The P790s feel great, but the P770s feel better. The players profile allows the P770s to deliver just a touch more feedback, and they’re definitely more workable.
TaylorMade P770 VS P790: Workability
Workability in an iron is critical. If you want to play a fade, you want to trust the iron in hand will enable you to play the shot. whether you want to play a sling draw, a tight draw or a banana slice, having options gives you an arsenal of shots to choose from.
As far as we’re concerned, there’s no contest in workability here. The P770 irons are far more workable, which you’d expect from a players iron like this. The smaller profile, higher spin rate and weaker lofts all contribute to being able to work the ball effectively with these irons.
As you saw above, the trade off for workability is forgiveness; being able to move the ball in the air means your mishits can be just a touch worse. While the P790s are more forgiving, you cant still work them, to an extent.
You can hit your draw, or you can hit your fade with either set of these TaylorMade irons. You can just control the trajectory and shot shape more with the P770s.
TaylorMade P770 VS P790: Pricing
Not much difference to discuss here either.
These are both premium irons, and at the time of writing they’re both over $1200 per set. The P790s are slightly more expensive, but it comes down to less than a hundred bucks.
If price is a factor between these two, just make sure you’re comfortable with the differences between these two iron sets. We’d hate for a high handicapper to buy the P770s over a minor price difference and barely be able to hit them.
FAQs
Now that the breakdown between the P770 and P790 iron sets is nearly complete, I wanted to address a few FAQs. It’s always good to ask questions when you’re about to buy a new set of clubs.
Here’s what people asked us most often:
Are the P790s for high handicappers?
Yes, and no.
The P790s can be a great option for the high handicap crowd, because of the forgiveness that is built into them. They’re not exclusively for high handicappers however.
The P790s are Players Distance irons, so they help out anyone who wants a bit more distance out of their iron set. Most people who use these TaylorMades will probably be mid to high handicappers.
Are the P770s better than the P790s?
The P770s offer more workability and better feel than the P790s do. So in that way, yes, they are better. They’re just not as forgiving, and they’re more compact than the P790s are.
The P770s are the better pick for the scratch to low handicap crowd, and the P790s are better for the mid to high handicap group.
Are the P770s Blades?
No. The P770s are a compact players iron, and while they do have a muscle back look, they still feature hollow body construction and more forgiveness than a set of true blades.
The P770s perform similarly to blades, but they are not technically blades.
Final Thoughts
The TaylorMade P790 irons have become some of the most popular iron sets on the market since their initial release in 2017. After a few iterations, the latest models are truly something spectacular. After a long spell of success, it was inevitable that a “V2” of these irons was to come out, and thus the P770 was born.
When comparing the TaylorMade P770 VS P790 iron sets, the biggest difference is the iron profile and workability. The P770s are a more workable iron set, packed into a more compact clubhead.
The P790s have a slightly larger blade length and are a touch longer, and more forgiving. If you’re still not completely sure which set of irons is for you, go and demo both sets. See which you like to hit more, and your answer will become clear.